Archive for the 'Pat Smear' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

The clear favorite going into this evening’s final awards: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

The Seattle duo, whose raft of hit singles off independent sensation The Heist has carried it into the Grammys with seven nominations, emerged the big winner after the pre-telecast portion of the 56th annual ceremony, when victors in all but 10 categories were revealed. Not unexpectedly, M&RL dominated the rap fields, including trophies for album, song and performance, the latter two for “Thrift Shop.”

They did lose one face-off, best music video, which went to the David Fincher-directed clip for Justin Timberlake & Jay Z’s “Suit & Tie.” Timberlake also deservedly won best R&B song, for “Pusher Love Girl.”

But Macklemore & Ryan Lewis could still end up with the night’s highest tally, if they can pull off what would be a stunning sweep of three of four top categories: record and song of the year as well as best new artist. Even if they take just one or two of those, that may still place them at the front of the pack.

Even in a region as accustomed to star-studded events as Southern California, it has been an extraordinary time for rare occurrences lately. Elton John and Sarah McLachlan played Disney California Adventure. The original Blasters reunited in Santa Ana. The Who played Quadrophenia for the first time in 16 years. Ben Folds Five got back together after a decade-plus apart and packed the Mouse House.

All of it was stunning to varying degrees. Yet none of it compares to what Dave Grohl put together at the Hollywood Palladium Thursday night.

To add something extra to the L.A. premiere earlier that evening of his directorial debut Sound City, a loving and ear-opening elegy to the renowned Van Nuys studio that also serves as a fantastic encapsulation of ’70s-’90s rock history, Grohl amassed many of the key figures from the film (dubbed the Sound City Players) for a nearly nonstop 3½-hour release party.

On hand, often with Foo Fighters backing them, were several artists who cut their teeth or laid down classics at the dumpy sonic wonderland. There were punk vets (Fear’s Lee Ving) alongside cult heroes (Masters of Reality’s Chris Goss), outright legends (John Fogerty) following new-era icons (Slipknot’s Corey Taylor). Plus two talents for whom Sound City was crucial: Rick Springfield, who owes his career to the place, and Stevie Nicks, who languished there alongside then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham until luck brought the rest of Fleetwood Mac into the studio to blaze new trails with its self-titled 1975 disc and the monumental Rumours.

Little more than a month ago we finally got a glimpse of Dave Grohl's Sound City, his documentary about the renowned Van Nuys studio that enabled the recording of scores of rock classics. And as the year began we heard about the formation of the Sound City Players, a supergroup of stars who appear in the film (opening in limited release on Feb. 1) and on its Real to Reel soundtrack (which doesn't drop until March 12).

The star-studded lineup instantly sold out a show slated for Jan. 18 at the Sundance Film Festival – and now they've added a one-off appearance at the Hollywood Palladium on Jan. 31, the same night Sound City debuts at the Cinerama Dome just a few blocks down Sunset Boulevard.

Who will perform alongside the Foo Fighters frontman? A cavalcade of names, all of whom cut sides at the studio back in the day, including Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield, Fear leader Lee Ving, Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, Cheap Trick guitarist and songwriter Rick Nielsen, Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Alain Johannes, Chris Goss and more.

Also expect to see Grohl's current and past band mates in the mix: Taylor Hawkins, Krist Novoselic, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear. And it wouldn't shock if Paul McCartney turned up, either here or at Sundance, seeing as he contributed to the soundtrack tune "Cut Me Some Slack." The Palladium set is likely to feature other songs from that collection as well as classics from many of the stars involved.